I struggled for most of last year with losing weight. I significantly upped my exercise, taking Zumba and swimming a mile 3-4 times a week. I felt great, and my body changed in shape, but the weight didn't come off like it should have. I adj... Read more

So here I am in Sri Lanka. I've been here about 3 weeks at this point, the first 4 days in a swanky hotel and then in my new house. It's super humid here, and I feel like a giant sweatball all the time, but it's fascinating, and lush and green... Read more

I left Ghana, spent most of June and July in the States eating and drinking too much, somehow seem to have lost another size despite the copious amounts of food I ate, went to a nutritionist who said that my calorie goal is too low given the amo... Read more

So yesterday I was in the school locker room changing for the pool. There was a group of middle school girls in there, from another school, who were visiting for a soccer match with our team. I changed in one of the bathroom stalls, not out of... Read more

So the scale has not been my friend these past couple of months. It hasn't really been my enemy, but I have been bouncing back and forth losing the same two pounds for quite a while. So I am trying to come up with some other ways to motivate ... Read more

Cape Town is amazingly beautiful, as is Stellenbosch, the wine-growing town nearby. We have done a winery tour, a walking historical tour, and spent quite a bit of time wandering around on our own.
Read more

It's easy to be motivated when you're successful, when something is new and exciting, when the scale goes down, or you cross the finish line on your first 5k, but how do you stay motivated long term? I am so tired of tracking everything I eat, ... Read more

Willpower is the ability to align yourself with the brain system that is thinking about long-term goals — that is thinking about big values rather than short-term needs or desires.
blog.ted.com/2014/01/08/the-science-of-willpo... Read more

I posted this on a message board, but it bears repeating.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
If I do not track, I stop losing. If I do not exercise, I stop losing. Unfortunately, it is very easy to take a day or two off from tracking and then that ... Read more

I've been wallowing about my knee since Monday, and I feel like I need to make a concerted effort to snap out of it and stop feeling sorry for myself. It's frustrating not being able to swim or go to Zumba, and my knee does hurt, but it's a min... Read more

Ugh. I wiped out today, talking a walk. Three hours in the emergency room and seven stitches later, I am home. Unable to swim, do Zumba or even stand in the shower for at least two weeks. My knee is really gross, and I am lucky that it was n... Read more

So the pool was closed today. It was closed yesterday too, so I only swam twice this week. I'm going to try to get to the university pool tomorrow afternoon, but it's a 50 meter pool, and that's pretty intimidating for us non-Olympic athletes.... Read more